Debate: Ethnocentrism - Essay Example

ETHNOCENTRISM: A DEBATE ON THE BASIS OF A COMPARISON OF TWO ARTICLES Kalin & Berry (1994, pp.301-302) defined ethnocentrism as “the tendency to make ‘we-they’ distinctions, accompanied by a relatively positive evaluation of ‘we’ and a negative evaluation of ‘they’.” It also embraces “the tendency to judge others by the standards and values of one’s own group.” (Sheen Ron). As per the characterization, ethnocentrism is the penchant to look at the world largely from the perspective of one’s own culture. This expression was coined by Elena Jacobs Jaye Lay, a social evolutionist and professor of Political and Social Science at Yale University. He defined ethnocentrism as the viewpoint that “one’s own group is the center of everything,” against which all other groups are judged. Ethnocentrism often entails the belief that ones own race or ethnic group is the most important and/or that some or all aspects of its culture are superior to those of the other groups. Within this ideology, individuals will judge other groups in relation to their own particular ethnic group or culture, especially in the context of language, behavior, customs, and religion. These ethnic distinctions and sub-divisions serve to define each ethnicitys unique cultural identity. This is something that has crossed my mind many a times but I never really bothered to give it any serious thought may be because I never thought that I can ever make a difference in it. Or may be I am myself guilty of being a party to some kind of ethnocentrism at one time or the other. (The Modern Language Journal, 84, ii, 2000). Here, in this perspective, I intend to discuss two articles that are written on the topic. The first article I am talking about is ‘Ethnocentrism, Cultural Traits, Beliefs and English Proficiency: A Japanese Sample. This article reports on a study investigating the role of ethno-centralism in second language learning cultural and personality traits, and acceptance of values and beliefs expressed in myths and proverbs. It was a study done on 108 adult Japanese residing in North America. They were asked how much they agreed with or accepted the remarks expressing ethnocentric views about Japanese culture and language that described their shyness, inwardness and groupism as expressed through Japanese oriented myths and proverbs. (Marques, Joan, 2001). The second article is ‘Ethnocentrism in Today’s World’ by Joan Marques. It says that, “If you’ve always learned to do things a certain way, you will accept that as to be the right way. It usually takes thorough exposure to other cultures before you realize that there is no single good way of living, and that the perceptions you had until then may not even be the most ideal ones!” (Barger, Ken. 2004). Epoch of ethnocentricity, ultra nationalism and xenophobia all augur against accepting and validating other cultures and ethics as acknowledgeable. We do not have to go international to talk about ethnocentricity and understand its implications on the human society. If we take the example of one nation India, which is multi-cultural, multi-lingual and multi-religious, we can understand this term. It won’t be news if I mention here that during all periods of human history various religions and sects have disapproved of other religions and sects. If one tracks human evolution from ancient to modern times one can see that the process has been rife with instances of violence that has culminated into major wars due to ethnic intolerance. This is because everyone thinks of their culture as the best and superior to the rest and wants that it should be applied globally. This has led to riots on various occasions even in recent times when humans claim to be the most sophisticated form of life on earth, causing the death of many. Is this the right way to inform people of one’s culture? Certainly not! And when such a thing happens across national borders it leads to wars. On this Joan Marques says, “The extremists leaders of the East try to eradicate the “Wild Wild West”, and the Western cohort tries to eliminate those “backward thinking” Easterners, because they both believe their perception is the best and should be applicable on the whole world. Result: yet another war.” What the US has been doing in Iraq is most definitely a no-no on the people of Iraq who are happy the way they are no matter how cruel a dictation Saddam Hussain was thought of being. Similarly not withstanding the wrongs that have been done to the women in the name of Islam religion by the Taliban people in Afghanistan do not want another country to dictate terms in their homeland. They did not want to believe that the conditions were miserable in their country. In fact after the US attack they have become despondent. But the Americans consider themselves to be superior to the rest of the world and so they think if someone is suggested to be unhappy, they can interfere on the pretext of being protectors. This is some help which is not always welcome. However, it is not always as the media portrays. Which country doesn’t have its pluses and minuses? It is what we want to see and what we want to ignore and what people want us to see. But are the developed countries only to be blamed for the distress of the developing and the under developed countries. The one reason is that they have taken over the local markets and the local culture and changed the complete out-look of the economics of these countries. But does it give enough justification to force upon the beliefs and culture on these developing and under developed countries? Yet, I wonder, why no one has stood up till date to change these rules and outdated religious practices and philosophies. In any case, there should not be any doubt that one should take a balanced view of both ends and accept what is deemed best in the interest of common good. In Joan Marques’ word,” Perception is a very subjective phenomenon. It’s personal. It’s ethnocentric. It’s unjust to think that what we perceive as best for us is also best for others. We should allow them their dignity and their choice, just like they should allow us ours.” Why do the eastern countries encounter the feelings of guilt, low self-esteem, inequality and poverty in their people? Yes it can be accepted that they are not as developed as their western counterparts but is it all that matters? Why do we always make our comparison to the countries which are better than us and not look at the progress done so far which has brought us ahead of many other countries? The thinkers keep saying it again and again but we fail to incorporate it in to our perceptions. But we must remember it now and remember it in bold, ‘COUNT YOUR BLESSINGS’. Think positive. And then we will be able to come out of the mindset of aping the west with blind eyes. Our ethnocentrism blocks our mind from reading the good things of other cultures. Ethnocentrism can thus be called culture- bounded. It is kind of a restraint on us that prevents us from accepting the world in general as a broader specter of our own entity. Matsumoto, for example, states that English education in Japan is troublesome. It is a source of much criticism, blame, and debate….Although English teachers have been doing their utmost to improve and respond to criticisms, nevertheless, student attitudes and proficiency remain negative and criticism had not diminished. (p.209) (Hayes, 1979; Matsumoto, 1994; Miller, 1982). Even if one person wants to over come it, the social pressures bring him back to the group. This is what came out as the result of the study done on the 108 Japanese. It was found that the more ethnocentric the participants were, the less understanding they showed for the other group’s culture and for world culture in general. The classic finding was that interactive and integrative motives and instrumental motives made their proficiency level better. Cultural dynamics which propose an explanation to the difficulty of the Japanese in attaining high levels of English proficiency were the alleged Japanese tendency to be shy, inward looking and to be group oriented. The main hypothesis was that ethnocentrism, ethno-specificity and other social variables, such as stereotyped qualities, and acceptance of beliefs and values expressed in myths and proverbs affected the proficiency level of the respondents. The crux and moral that can be extracted from this is that we should be ready to mingle with people around us without regard for their caste, creed, ethnicity, race, language etc. This fusion of cultures will give us an understanding of others’ ethnicity and we will be able to allow people to learn and understand our customs and traditions. Thus we will be able to give them an inner look into our way of living. Here, if we will be liberated enough to incorporate the fine things of their culture and share ours with them, this world would be a better place to live in. Bibliography Sheen, Ron. Ethnocentrism, Cultural Traits, Beliefs, and English Proficiency: A Japanese Sample. Canada. Retrieved May 4, 2007, from http://www.academia-research.com/files/instr/173187_07041701463028873.pdf Marques, Joan. (8 Dec. 2001). Ethnocentrism in Today’s World. Burbank, California. Retrieved May 4, 2007, from http://www.angelfire.com/id/joanmarques/Articles/Ethnocentrism_in_today_s_world.htm The Modern Language Journal. 84, ii, 2000. Barger, Ken. (20 Dec. 2004). Ethnocentrism. What is it? Why are People Ethnocentric? What is the Problem? What can we do about it? Retrieved May 4, 2007, from www.iupui.edu/~anthkb/ethnocen.htm Hayes, 1979; Matsumoto, 1994; Miller, 1982. Read More